Zambia – Edgar Lungu re-elected president

Lungu narrowly avoids an election run-off with a slim majority.

Zambia’s president has been re-elected in a closely contested vote, the country’s election panel said Monday.

Incumbent president Edgar Lungu of the ruling Patriotic Front party received 1,860,877 votes, giving him just over 50 percent of the votes and therefore enough to avoid a runoff election, the election commission said. The main challenger, Hakainde Hichilema of the opposition United Party for National Development, received 1,760,347 votes.
Lungu had faced a tough challenge from Hichilema – Zambia under his watch – has had to endure challenging economic times due to depressed commodity prices globally.

Lungu, who narrowly beat Hichilema in a vote last year to replace late president Michael Sata, won 50.35 percent of the vote, against 47.63 for his opponent, according to the results released by the Zambian Election Commission.

Hichilema’s party is looking at the possibility of lodging a protest with Zambia’s constitutional court over alleged “irregularities”, said Jack Mwiimbu, a senior party official.

Source: Agencies